Sweet Tooth: Worth the Risk?

I started writing this as a Facebook post, but it grew pretty long and so I decided to blog it instead. So I'm doing this thing this year (and actually my goal is forever, but I'm saying a year to prove to everyone I can do it), where I'm going without any dessert with sugar in it, including soda and "sugar-free" things. I've bought a couple Gatorade's to help me when I want something sweet because, you know, they're "better for you." Well yesterday, I realized that a 20oz bottle of Gatorade contains 34g of sugar! The safe amount of sugar for a woman to consume a day is 6 teaspoons or 25g per day! It made me realize how I really need to start looking at labels more closely and not assuming I'm eating/drinking something "good" for me. On that note, a 20oz bottle of pepsi has 69g of sugar. That is WAY more than either a man or woman should be consuming in a day. Sugar intake for men is 37.5g or less per day. We have let drinking/eating double, triple, and quadruple+ the maximum safe amount of sugar daily become it is societal norm. There is already enough sugar in the food we eat such as bread, milk, and sauces - to name a slight few. In this day we have more processed and sugary foods at our fingertips than ever before. However, I can say the same about produce and every other healthy food, so why aren't we reaching for those more often? Some people argue that produce is too expensive. Um excuse me, but if you can afford a bag of chips, candy, Goldfish crackers, or a bottle of soda, you can afford a $1 bag of carrots. Produce is not as expensive as everyone makes it out to be. Go eat an apple (they contain healthy sugar)! Anyways, that's what I was thinking today! Thanks for reading! Hopefully you are inspired to take one step today towards a sugar-free lifestyle. Okay that might be a little extreme. At least do one thing today to not eat or drink as much sugar as usual. Unless you already stay within the healthy amount, then good job!

Here are a couple of interesting articles about sugar:

14 Mind Blowing Facts About Sugar:

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4543/14-MindBlowing-Facts-About-Sugar-Infographic.html

You'll Stop Eating Sugar After Reading This Post

http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/25-things-about-sugar-that-will-terrify-you/

And for the nerds out there: Why Sugar is Worse Than Darth Vader:

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/06/17/everything-you-need-to-know-about-sugar/